Foundations for Object Theatre

Object theatre involves the manipulation of objects to give them life, a reciprocal play between the performer and the object. It imbues objects and props with significant meanings, implying that it is not only a style of theatre but also a method. There are different levels of object theatre. A basic example is the manipulation of a spoon to make it into a character. An advanced example would be floating paper becoming 'lost thoughts'.

The term 'Object Theatre' is comparatively new with much object theatre practice dating from the early 1980s work by such pioneers as Paul Zaloom and Christian Carignon. There is real interest in its methods and it is increasingly being used in contemporary practice in performance, community arts, dance and puppetry. However, as yet, there has not been a platform for rigorous intellectual exchange between practitioners, industry professionals and academics to provide a solid theoretical grounding for object theatre as its own discipline.

Theories are emerging, from different countries, in both its teaching and practice. Our networking opportunity will provide a unique opportunity for 3 of the first generation of practitioners to share their understandings and methods with academics, PhD students and industry practitioners, with the aim of establishing a foundation for research into object theatre. Practitioners from different continents will provide a cross-cultural perspective on the history and methodology of object theatre. We will look at the use of object theatre across disciplines in drama, performance and the visual arts, and use this research to discuss how theory can inform teaching practice.

Articles will be published in journals read by a wide audience, as well as in a peer-reviewed journal. We will sustain the network via an object theatre website, new contacts between participants, and the dissemination of articles.

Those benefiting from this work include:

The PI and CO-I.
A group of selected industry professionals.
International theorists and performers in object theatre.
An interdisciplinary professional and academic community (through published outputs and website).
15 BA and MA students and 2 PhD Students.
A broad spectrum of the public, from A-level students to theatre audiences (through the website).

Key benefits include:

An enhanced understanding of the interdisciplinary aspect of object theatre and the first attempt, through network and discussion, to formulate core methodologies and pedagogic practice in relation to its emergence as key practice in contemporary performance. The dissemination of clear methodologies for object theatre that can be employed by a range of academic staff and students across disciplines and a wider community of performance professionals. It will also be of benefit to a wider public, e.g. schools, FE and HE institutions.

Improving the skills of performance professionals and students, generating a unique discursive platform for academics and practitioners to clarify the techniques of object theatre for future researchers and performers.

A potential aid in the further development of established courses and the creation of new ones. This is particularly relevant to the UK where currently only one university, The Central School of Speech and Drama, has a course on object theatre. Nottingham Trent University starts a new MA in Puppetry and Digital Animation this year (co-developed by the PI).

An enhanced engagement with theatre as an artistic form - through the public access website the possibilities of object theatre as an accessible, and easily understood across cultural boundaries, medium will be made apparent. Object theatre provides the possibility to understand a genuinely democratised form of performance through everyday things.